The Meals and Services Coalition has received this letter of support from MNLCOA
February 27, 2023
To Whom it May Concern,
On behalf of the undersigned members of the Minnesota Leadership Council on Aging, I write today in full support of the Meals for Seniors legislation requesting $20 million this biennium to meet the minimum nutritional needs for older adults in our state.
As trusted organizations in the state’s aging sector, our shared mission is to create communities and systems that support aging with dignity and a spirit of well-being in Minnesota. One of our longstanding values as a Leadership Council is to ensure basic human needs. What can be more fundamental in meeting our societal obligation than ensuring older adults have access to food!
Programs that provide meals to older adults are severely underfunded and are not meeting the needs of older Minnesotans. The Minnesota Senior Nutrition Program has not had a funding increase in the past 20 years, while the need and costs have grown exponentially. From 2020 to 2022 alone, the cost of meals has increased 26%. Meal providers are responding by serving fewer people or fewer meals per person, with devastating impacts on older adults.
We also know that food insecurity disproportionately affects those from low-income, BIPOC and rural communities who live in food deserts, have limited English proficiency, or lack access to transportation. Inadequate nutrition has a negative impact on health, erodes quality of life and contributes to rising healthcare costs. The Minnesota legislature has stood up to help feed children, now we ask that you do the same for Minnesotans across the lifespan.
On behalf of our members and the one million older Minnesotans we work with who call our state home – especially the 1 in 2 who today are at risk for malnutrition – we ask for your urgent support to meet this basic human need.
Respectfully submitted,
Adam Suomala
Executive Director
Minnesota Leadership Council on Aging
Minnesota Leadership Council on Aging Delegates supporting Meals for Seniors
Cathy McLeer, State Director
AARP Minnesota
Susan Parriott, Chief Executive Officer
Alzheimer’s Association MN/ND
Nona Ferguson, Vice President, Economic Stability and Aging Services
Amherst H. Wilder Foundation
Patti Cullen, President and CEO
Care Providers of Minnesota
Ann Bailey, President
DARTS
Beth Wiggins, Director of Caregiving and Aging Services
FamilyMeans
James Falvey, Executive Director
Friends & Co.
Jonathan Palmer, Executive Director
Hallie Q. Brown Community Center
Ruth Hampton Olkon, Chief Executive Officer
Jewish Family Services of St. Paul
Mary McKeown, President and CEO
Keystone Community Services
Kari Thurlow, President and CEO
LeadingAge Minnesota
Carol Lundquist, Executive Director
Living at Home Network
Roxanne Jenkins, Associate Vice President for Services for Older Adults
Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota
Jarrod Peterson, Public Policy Chair/President
Minneapolis Area Senior Workers Association and St. Paul Senior Workers Association
Dawn Simonson, President and CEO, Trellis
Minnesota Association of Area Agencies on Aging
Heidi Holste, Executive Director
Minnesota Association of Geriatrics Inspired Clinicians
Amanda Vickstrom, Executive Director
Minnesota Elder Justice Center
Tom Hyder, Interim Executive Director
Minnesota Gerontological Society
Kathy Messerli, Executive Director
Minnesota Home Care Association
Jessica Hausauer, Executive Director
Minnesota Network of Hospice and Palliative Care
Phil Duran, Senior Advocate, Aging and Gender Care Access
Rainbow Health
Deb Taylor, Chief Executive Officer
Senior Community Services
Jane Pederson, Chief Medical Quality Officer
Stratis Health
Joseph Gaugler, Robert L. Kane Endowed Chair in LTC and Aging
University of Minnesota
Kate Grathwol, President and CEO
Vision Loss Resources
Vickie Snyder, Chair, Board of Directors
Vital Aging Network
Julie Manworren, President and CEO
Volunteers of America – MN/WI